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For those who’re beginning 2026 with $21,000 in a Tax-Free Financial savings Account (TFSA), easy may be the very best form of good. A newbie portfolio doesn’t want 10 tickers or fixed tinkering. It wants just a few holdings that you just perceive and may hold via a tough 12 months, and that do completely different jobs. A financial institution can carry earnings energy and a dividend tradition. A regulated utility can add the bill-paying really feel that many buyers need. A pipeline can add long-life infrastructure money movement. A broad ETF can hold you from leaning too laborious on Canada alone. So let’s think about some on the TSX right now.

BMO

Financial institution of Montreal (TSX:BMO) may be the monetary anchor. In its fiscal third quarter of 2025, it reported internet earnings of about $2.4 billion and adjusted internet earnings of about $2.3 billion, with adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $3.12. It additionally confirmed that provisions for credit score losses had been increased than a 12 months earlier, which is a helpful reminder that banking danger by no means absolutely goes away.

BMO is much less about one quarter and extra in regards to the runway. For those who reinvest dividends and maintain via cycles, an enormous Canadian financial institution can compound quietly. The newbie mistake is treating it like a assured earnings product. It’s nonetheless a inventory. Credit score losses can rise shortly if the financial system slows, and financial institution shares can drop earlier than they get better.

H

Hydro One (TSX:H) is the steadier enterprise within the group. In its third quarter of 2025, it posted fundamental EPS of $0.54 and adjusted EPS of $0.56, each increased than the prior 12 months. It additionally accredited a 6% dividend improve, lifting the quarterly dividend to $0.32 per share beginning in 2026.

The trade-off is that utilities may be delicate to rates of interest and valuations. When bond yields rise, utility shares can sag even when operations are wonderful. Hydro One additionally wants ongoing capital spending to keep up and broaden the grid, so execution and regulatory outcomes matter. Nonetheless, regulated earnings could make it simpler to carry than many cyclicals.

TRP

TC Vitality (TSX:TRP) provides the infrastructure sleeve. Within the third quarter of 2025, it reported comparable earnings of $1 billion, or $1.01 per share, comparable earnings earlier than curiosity, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) of $2.6 billion, and money movement from operations of $3.6 billion. It additionally declared a quarterly dividend of $0.96 per widespread share, and highlighted progress on main initiatives and the deliberate separation of its liquids pipeline enterprise.

If the Financial institution of Canada alerts a number of cuts, that may assist rate-sensitive names like utilities and pipelines. Decrease charges can cut back refinancing stress over time, and buyers typically pay extra for long-lived money flows when charges fall. The catch is that cuts can even imply progress is slowing. With TC Vitality, you continue to want to look at leverage, venture execution, and the way prices and demand evolve.

XEQT

That is the place iShares Core Fairness ETF Portfolio (TSX:XEQT) earns its hold. It’s a one-ticket, all-equity portfolio that holds U.S., Canadian, developed worldwide, and emerging-market shares and rebalances routinely. Charges are low for the protection, with a 0.20% administration expense ratio (MER). Distributions are quarterly and modest, so assume progress and diversification first.

Taken collectively, BMO, Hydro One, and TC Vitality can work as a easy Canadian trio as they diversify throughout financials, regulated energy supply, and vitality infrastructure, and each has a significant earnings part. Add XEQT for international breadth, and you’ve got a newbie setup that’s straightforward to know and straightforward to keep up. One of the best ways to make it work is boring. Decide a break up you may persist with, contribute repeatedly, and let time do the heavy lifting.

Backside line

One sensible strategy is to make the ETF your base, then use the three shares so as to add Canadian earnings. For instance, you might maintain about half in XEQT and break up the remaining throughout the three. Right here’s what $15,000 in XEQT may seem like, and $5,000 in every inventory.

Rebalance a couple of times a 12 months and reinvest distributions while you’re nonetheless constructing within the TFSA. And ignore the day-to-day market noise.